Supporting minority rights in same sex battle
By John Payton
The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund has filed a friend of the court brief challenging California’s Proposition 8, the voter-approved referendum against gay marriage ban, on the grounds that the basic rights of a minority group cannot be taken away by a simple majority.

Both the defenders of Prop 8 and its challengers have filed their briefs with the California Supreme Court in the litigation seeking to overturn the popular vote that has reinstated a ban on same-sex marriage. (Amicus briefs were filed on January 15.) A number of commentators have opined that those seeking to have Prop 8 invalidated have little chance of success. My view: not so fast.